The last time I visited Dr. R, he let me slide without the great big "horse" shots I usually get. I got a prescription for a pill instead. He wanted me to continue with the other pill he gave me last month, a fairly new product called Ibrance. Last month he gave me a sample bottle. We had our discussion about pain control (so far so good on OTC NSAIDs) but he didn't say anything about the MRI (Should I assume no news is good news? ). I got my other shot, and was told the dispensary would fill the new pill prescription. So when the dispensary gal caught up to me in the hallway, I asked her what about the Ibrance? She said she couldn't fill that one, but would ask Dr. R about it, and call me later. Ok, that was last Wednesday. When I hadn't heard anything by 3 p.m. Thursday, I called the doctor's office and asked about it. They would have to ask him & get back to me. I did get a call back that day, letting me know this has to be filled by a specialty pharmacy (up on Church St.) and it might take them a week to get it! The pharmacy called me early Friday to say they had the order, and would call again when the product was available. Now, I have no idea (yet) whether my insurance will pay anything on this product. So I went online & found a co-pay card from the manufacturer -- I hope it helps! Wow, talk about the vibe movin' around: I went into Blue Access to see if my med will be covered, then on to pricing the med--this has to be mail-order in order to be covered. BUT! there should be no co-pay, which is terrific because a month's supply is over $10K (!!!) and I'd just have to say no thanks if it was up to me to pay that. So I called the local specialty pharm (the one that called last Friday) to see if it was ready to ship or if they needed any info, and they told me the script was transferred to a specialty pharmacy in Memphis. They were able to give me a couple of phone numbers, and I was about to call Memphis, when I got a call from them! I should receive it tomorrow, and I have a third phone number specifically for that dept. So, that's worked out.
Why is our healthcare so screwed up in this, the greatest nation on earth? You can easily see how a patient could be driven into bankruptcy, trying to pay for just one drug each month. The biggest part of the problem is GREED on the part of the providers, whether they're the pharmaceutical manufacturers or the doctors (gotta have homes in the best part of town, fancy cars, trophy spouses..), or the insurance companies. And the Republican party agrees that those folks "ought" to have it all, provided they share with their representatives! Let's face it, if you're worth a billion, you could afford to pay a big chunk in taxes without suffering a huge hit to your lifestyle, if you weren't GREEDY. Who needs eight fancy autos? Couldn't you "get by" with just four? For your family of four, do you really need a house with ten bedrooms & bathrooms? Just sayin"!!
Ok, end of rant. You may return to your regularly scheduled activities.
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